Hi Sara!! I’m so happy to have you on the blog today. I’ve interviewed you and Taylor Henderson once before and I’m very glad to have you back.

Glad to be back! Thanks for having me again!

Can you to tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m Sara, I started writing in middle school, but didn’t fully dedicate to it until high school. I’m currently at university, studying Biology, so writing is just a hobby for now. My passion is with animals and I hope to oneday work with them.

When did you first get into writing? Could you tell us about it?

I started in middle school with a two book series, they have since gone unedited – maybe one day I’ll get around to editing them for publication. Since then I’ve written numerous books, and am currently working on a really long spy series (it’s going to be either 4 or 5 books – really long for me)

Do you have a favorite quote from one or all of your books?

I’m currently editing a book which will release June 7th and it’s one of my favorites and has a lot of quotes from one of my best friends, Sam.

A few dialogue quotes to show Lauren and Kayden’s relationship.

“I’m just here to help you, GG,” he said, giving me the same breathtaking smile. Something was going on, I just had to wait for the blow to come and hope I could take it. Though in this state, I wasn’t sure I could.

“How’s that? I was pretty sure your motto was, ‘Why help you, when I can help myself?’ Which, so you know, makes you sound exactly like the arrogant jerk you are.”

“Thanks, I have you to thank for that. If you hadn’t been there to support me, I’m not sure I could have done it.” I turned to look at him and noticed the faint smile on his lips. “So where are we going?” I asked as he turned the corner out of my neighborhood.

“How do you feel about breaking and entering?”

I glanced at him to see if he was serious. His features were stoic, and that worried me. “I don’t like it.”

I write best at the library. I cannot write at home no matter how hard I try, but I’ve gotten really good at writing on my phone while I’m on the bus or between classes. I hope to one day just have a desk in a nice room, but I think my inability to focus will be difficult to deal with.

Who are some of your favorite authors? Would you say that any of them have influenced your writing?

I love Heather Graham, J.K Rowling, R.L Stein, and a few others. I’ve met a lot of indie authors during my journey and they really inspire me. Reading a great book gets me pumped to write more and finish my own.

Do you listen to music while you write?

Yes, all the time. It’s how I focus. I listen while writing, reading, and doing homework.

What is your favorite part of being an author?

I can do anything I want in my books!

In my spy series, I gave my characters names like Night Stripe, Demon, and Sharp Shooter to pay homage to a lot of important things in my life. Demon explains that his mom used to call him a little demon while he was growing up, and my siblings thought the same of me. Sharp Shooter is where I learned to shoot a gun, it's a gun range back at home where I took gun safety course, and Night Stripe explains hers, lightning is the only source of light during a dark stormy night, and that's exactly what she wants to be - the light in a world of darkness.

Or I can take moments of my life and share them with people, and yes, I really did set a pop tart on fire in a toaster when I was a kid (happens in Amber Alert as a homage to myself and why my parents wouldn’t let me cook)

I can do ANYTHING! That’s so exciting! To me, and that’s my favorite part!

Which of your main characters do you think you would be best friends with in real life?

I’d love to have Sara Night, otherwise known as Night Stripe, Lauren Scott (in my book to be released June 7), and Chelsea Lerman from Waking Up Blank. They are a lot like me, and I really connect with them as characters. To have them as friends would be amazing especially for friends.

What would you like to see happen in the future regarding your writing?

I’d love to wrok with one of the big six publishers, or just keep cranking out books. I enjoy writing, and I’d love to share my stories with the world. Besides, who doesn’t want to become a best seller one day haha. I think I’d cry from happiness.

What is your advice for aspiring authors? And/or anything you want to add before you go.

Advice: Write, write, and keep writing. Practice makes perfect. It really does. Amber Alert was my first series released, and trust me, I know it’s rough and feels like a rough draft, but look at my newer releases, they are so much better. It’s really practicing, and learning to take and handle criticism. Not everyone will like what you write, it’s literally impossible to please everyone. So instead, please yourself Be happy with your story, and take the bad reviews with the good. Learn from them, if they are constructive, and enjoy the ones that praise you.

Thank you for joining us today!! Best of luck to you. :)

"No! Andy...please!"

I was roughly shoved into the back of a black car. The door slammed shut, the front door opened soon after and he got in. There was a click, as the car was locked. He threw the car into forward, and took off at an insane speed leaving everyone I knew and cared for behind.

I watched in terror as trees whizzed by, leaving the familiar surroundings behind as the road went from pavement to dirt and the buildings were replaced with large trees and fallen branches. I didn't know where we were going, but I wanted to go home. The locks wouldn’t budge; the child safety lock prevented my escape the moment he had locked me in this god-forsaken car. I had lost my phone in the struggle, and I was stuck in here.

There were scratch marks and dark spots on the seat. It looked as though someone had tried to claw their way out and I couldn't blame them. Every hair on my neck were standing on end with fear blazing through me. My throat was sore from the screaming, but all the drivers had ignored my pleas for help. They simply kept driving without another sideways glance in my direction.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked again, my voice hoarse from the screams and crying. It was answered the same way, with silence that slowly crept in and made me shudder.

"Shut up!'

"Where are we going?"

"Be a good girl and take orders. Now shut up!"

I wished more than anything to be back at home and under my bed, away from him. The road turned to gravel as we came upon a rundown house, its shudders were falling of the hinges, but what caught me was the windows were boarded up. To prevent escape, I felt a shiver travel up my spine as the car came to a slow stop.

He got out of the car and didn’t unlock the doors until he was at the door. That small click would have brought me relief at any point in the car ride other than now. I pushed against the other side of the car as he reached one long hand in and grabbed me by my ankle and roughly yank me out of the car on to the gravel. A scream ripped through my throat as the gravel cut into my skin and my head hit the side of the car.

"Get up!" he ordered. My head was spinning from everything that had happened, but when I didn't move, he moved me.

His hand grabbed take a large chunk of my hair before he lifted me out of the car, ignoring my cries of pain. He roughly dragged me to the house, I couldn't get my feet to walk and fell often.

The door was solid, he had to slam his body against the wooden blockade and force it open. There was a creak as it slowly opened from his blows, and he threw me inside onto the hardwood floor. There was no carpet, anywhere It would be possible to hear every step from anywhere in the home. The house was bare to the bones, the walls held no photos or phones, rooms remained empty of furniture unless it was bolted to the ground. A new wave of fear ripped through me in realization that he had done this before, he had taken precautions for it.

Sara Schoen began
writing in middle school, but did not officially dedicate herself to writing
until high school when encouraged by her writing partner. Before then, Sara had
not thought about trying to publish her works because it seemed unlikely that
anyone would take a chance on someone so young. Despite her previous thoughts,
she published her first book, Amber Alert, at the age of nineteen, and began
rewriting and editing a spy series that she spent years writing when she was
younger. With a lot of hard work and determination, now that same series, which
is close to her heart, is a bestseller.

Sara is a Biology
Major with a minor in Environmental Science and a minor in Spanish at James
Madison University, and spends her time writing, studying, and ghost hunting.
While writing is a great hobby that turned into a passion to share with others,
school is her priority.

Throughout her
publishing journey, Sara has had an amazing support system from her family,
friends, and significant other, who were with her every step of the way. She
hopes to continue to write, and wants to inspire others to reach for their
dreams no matter how far they may seem. She truly believes that dreams can come
true at any age, if you put in effort and chase after what you want.